Helping adults in the mid stage of life to achieve healthy lifestyles is the aim of a new wellness program developed by Griffith University.

Led by Dr Amanda McGuire and funded by Griffith’s Menzies Health Institute Queensland, the nurse-led study will involve 60 participants aged 40-59 who will undertake an 8 week healthy lifestyle program called GroWell.

All aspects of health including physical activity, healthy eating, stress management, better sleep and preventative health behaviours will be looked at as part of an online questionnaire.

“Mid-life is known to be a good time to provide advice to people on their health, particularly as there are certain risks around this time such as overweight/obesity, diabetes and heart health,” says Dr McGuire, a nursing academic from Griffith’s School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Evidence-based research

“The positive aspect of this program is all the advice that provided is supported by strong evidence-based research. Unfortunately there is a lot of mis-information out there about health in the marketplace at the moment, and this program is also aiming to address this.”

Participants – who can live anywhere – will complete two virtual appointments (via Facetime or Skype) with either a trained nurse or research assistant at baseline and on completion of the program. All participants will be asked to complete an online questionnaire on three occasions.

Participants could also be randomly assigned to nurse-led coaching as part of the benefits of joining the GroWell program.

For more information about the program and to register interest, visit the project’s website at growellforhealth.com.au or email [email protected]

All participants must be able to speak and read English and have access to a computer, tablet or eReader device.